After helping the Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl LVI in February, Aaron Donald reportedly considered walking away from football at the top of his game. 

He, obviously, ended up not retiring, with the Rams ultimately restructuring his contract to give him a record payday in early June. 

But from the time the Rams raised the Lombardi Trophy to the time Donald agreed to the massive raise, coach Sean McVay says his ongoing conversations with the future Hall of Famer were crucial in getting a deal done. 

"My dialogue with Aaron throughout the process I thought was key to be able to feel good about it but also understand what needed to get done to have him come back and lead the way for us," McVay said on Monday. 

Donald’s restructured deal guarantees him $95million over the next three years, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. 

The hefty price is justified, however, given he’s widely considered one of the best defensive players in NFL history. 

A Super Bowl championship was the last major accomplishment left to achieve for the 31-year-old Donald, who has three Defensive Player of the Year Awards and seven consecutive First Team All-Pro selections on his resume. 

So McVay understood why Donald wanted to take some time to evaluate his career after playing a vital role in the Rams’ Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals with a pair of sacks against Joe Burrow. 

"When you reach (and win the Super Bowl), when he had been working so hard to try to get to that goal, there's an exhale," McVay said. "I think you want to be able to let the dust settle, figure out what's important. What can we do to accommodate that? If you still want to be able to play football."

Donald still has the passion to play and McVay credits their conversations as a big reason why one of the most feared defensive players ever will be suiting up for the Rams in their quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions. 

"(Donald and I) had great dialogue throughout the course of the offseason," McVay said. "I think like anything else, it's such a long process when you're able to play 21 games and if you include the pre-season, you're talking about 24 games last year. So many emotions."

Former world number 17 Cristian Garin was beaten 6-4 7-5 by Federico Coria in the first round of the Austrian Open in Kitzbuhel, while Matteo Berrettini and defending champion Casper Ruud withdrew from the tournament.

2017 runner-up Joao Sousa cruised past Vit Kopriva 6-1 7-5 and Jurij Rodionov set up a Round of 16 meeting with third seed Roberto Bautista Agut with a straight-sets victory over Hernan Casanova.

Dominic Thiem, who won the 2019 edition of the competition, will face Alexander Shevchenko tomorrow while Richard Gasquet will take on Sebastian Ofner.

2016 Croatia Open winner Fabio Fognini will not be regaining his title in Umag this year, after the seventh seed was knocked out by Colombian Daniel Galan in a 3-6 7-5 3-6 defeat.

Galan will play Giulio Zeppieri in the next round, who came from one set down to overcome world number 90 Pedro Cachin 3-6 6-1 6-4.

Fifth seed Alex Molcan plays his first game tomorrow against Duje Adjukovic, and sixth seed Daniel Altmaier will take on French 23-year-old Corentin Moutet.

The players' union has rejected Major League Baseball's proposal to instil a draft for international players, keeping the current qualifying-offer system in place through the end of 2026.

The MLBPA issued its decision about eight hours before the midnight EDT deadline Monday.

A prospective international draft became a point of contention during last offseason's lockout and was delayed as a part of the March 10 settlement between the league and players. 

While an international draft could have stimulated the free agent market for certain veteran players, most internationals favoured keeping the current system, which allows teams to sign foreign players from a designated pool of money and pay with draft-pick compensation.

"Players made clear from the outset that any international draft must meaningfully improve the status quo for those players and not unfairly discriminate between those players and domestic entrants," the MLBPA said in a statement announcing its decision.

"Our draft proposals – unprecedented in MLBPA history – sought to establish minimum guarantees in player signings, roster spots, infrastructure investments, playing opportunities, scouting opportunities, as well as enforcement measures to combat corruption.

"We also made proposals to compensate international signees more fairly and in line with other amateurs, and to ensure that all prospects have access to an educational and player development safety net."

The current system, which ties international signing bonus pool money as a penalty to the free agent qualifying offer, has led to a stagnation in the free agent market for older free agents.

"We are disappointed the MLBPA chose the status quo over transitioning to an international draft that would have guaranteed future international players larger signing bonuses and better educational opportunities, while enhancing transparency to best address the root causes of corruption in the current system," MLB said in a statement.

MLB's final proposal would have set a limit of $191 million allotted to a potential draft in 2024, while the players' last offer was for $260million. 

Ukraine great Andriy Shevchenko has thanked the Polish people for their support during the war against Russia, hailing sports stars Iga Swiatek and Robert Lewandowski for their efforts.

An ambassador for Laureus Sport for Good, Shevchenko surprised children who had fled the war with a visit to a school in Warsaw.

The world has rallied around Ukraine following Russia's invasion, with sporting stars and celebrities using their platform to raise awareness of the situation in the country.

On Saturday, WTA world number one Swiatek organised a charity tennis match, where Shevchenko was a special guest, while Lewandowski has been vocal in his support – and will wear a Barcelona shirt featuring the UNHCR logo, the United Nations' main agency for refugees, this season.

Following his appearance in Warsaw, Shevchenko thanked Poland as a nation for taking in a flood of refugees from their European neighbours.

"I want to thank you, [the] Polish people, for being very kind to my country. For hosting us here. For providing all the needs," he said, as per Laureus Sport for Good.

"Thank you so much for your support. Also, I want to thank Iga Swiatek and Robert Lewandowski for taking a big part in initiatives helping my country to raise the funds and support against the war in Ukraine."

Shevchenko also praised compatriot Oleksandr Zinchenko for speaking out against the war, something numerous Ukrainian athletes have done.

"Like many, everyone Ukrainian, his reaction against the war, he stood up and then he spoke loud," he added of Zinchenko, who last week signed for Arsenal from Premier League champions Manchester City.

"He expressed his view, he's expressed his very hard feelings against the war for Ukraine, because he loves Ukraine, he loves people. 

"And we did a lot of activities together, we've been involved in a few fundraisers. I know he's a very generous person and he did a lot for Ukrainian people."

After spending much of his offseason recovering from a right elbow injury, veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford resumed throwing as the Los Angeles Rams opened training camp on Sunday.  

"It feels good to get out there," Stafford said. "Definitely knocking some rust off and feeling it again. It's good to get out there and stress it a little bit and see how it reacts."

Stafford, who helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl title last season, has rested his arm since February and received an anti-inflammatory injection in his elbow. 

Stafford and head coach Sean McVay have said that the 14th-year quarterback will have to ease back into a full workload after taking so much time off. 

"It's an interesting thing trying to have a little bit of governor on there, and at the same time, just trying to be as smart as I can," Stafford said. "It's a process. Just going to have to sit there and work through it, trust it. We'll figure it out as we go."

McVay told reporters that while Stafford is on a pitch count, it didn’t come into play in Sunday’s camp-opening session. 

"[Stafford] was a full participant today," McVay said. "Like him having as much experience as he does, we will continue to build him up.

"We're aware of what that pitch count is, but it didn't restrict him from being able to do anything today."

Acquired last offseason from the Detroit Lions, Stafford was a key reason why the Rams got over the hump to win their first Super Bowl since the 1999 season. 

Stafford tied a career high last season with 41 touchdown passes and registered a 102.9 passer rating, starting all 17 games. 

He added nine more touchdown passes during the Rams’ postseason run, including six to Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have appeared to have found their replacement for the retired Rob Gronkowski, signing tight end Kyle Rudolph to a one-year contract on Monday.

The deal is reportedly worth $2million and Rudolph can earn an additional $1.5million in incentives.

Gronkowski retired for the second time in his career last month despite having the chance to play another season with Tom Brady, who announced his retirement on Feb. 1 before changing his mind March 13 and returning to Tampa Bay.

In Rudolph, the Buccaneers land a tight end who had 26 catches for 257 yards and one touchdown last season for the New York Giants.

That was Rudolph’s only year with New York after spending his first 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, who selected him with the 11th pick of the second round (43rd overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Rudolph earned two Pro Bowl selections while playing for Minnesota, including being named the MVP of the game in 2012 after having five catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.

Rudolph has appeared in 156 regular-season games, hauling in 479 passes for 4,745 yards and 49 TDs.

Third seed Elise Mertens suffered a first-round exit at the Prague Open, while Caroline Garcia dispatched of Misaki Doi in the Poland Open. 

Mertens, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon at the start of July, succumbed to a 6-3 2-6 6-2 defeat to Magda Linette – her first loss to the Pole after three straight-set victories in their previous encounters. 

The Belgian got just 52 per cent of her first serves in and won 38.5 per cent of points behind her second serve while only converting one of the five break points she earned. 

Sixth seed Alison Van Uytvanck retired in the first set of her match against Dalila Jakupovic, while eighth seed Marie Bouzkova overcame Sinja Kraus 6-2 7-6 (7-2). 

In Warsaw, fifth seed Garcia by no means had it easy in a 7-5 6-4 success over Doi. 

The Frenchwoman committed eight double faults and only got 55 per cent of her first serves in, but by saving six of the eight break points she faced she was able to get the job done in straight sets. 

Polish wildcard Maja Chwalinska was a 7-5 6-2 victor over qualifier Rebeka Masarova in only her second Tour-level tournament. 

Lewis Hamilton has backed Max Verstappen to ease towards another Formula One world championship after the Red Bull driver extended his advantage with victory in France.

The defending champion came in ahead of Hamilton and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell, capitalising on Charles Leclerc's error that saw him crash out while holding the lead in the race.

That marked the third time in 2022 that Leclerc's Ferrari has retired from the lead and leaves the Monegasque driver 63 points adrift with just one race remaining before F1's mid-season break.

Leclerc took responsibility for his latest setback and Hamilton offered his condolences to the 24-year-old by admitting he was "gutted" by his departure at the Circuit Paul Ricard.

Though he's urging Ferrari to keep up the fight, he admitted that he does not see any alternative outcome to Verstappen successfully defending his crown.

"It's been great to see the pace of Ferrari this year. I'm gutted for Charles, who's been doing a great job, as has Carlos [Sainz]," he told reporters.

"It's not easy though, having that pace and that performance and maintaining it.

"It's a tough job and I feel for the whole team because I know what that can feel like. But they're a great team, and they'll continue to keep their heads down.

"[There's] massive gaps, obviously pretty huge so that's pretty smooth sailing in that space [for Verstappen] generally.

"But a lot can still go wrong up ahead so I would just advise them to just continue to push."

Raheem Mostert has confirmed he is fit to feature in the Miami Dolphins' training camp.

Mostert has been out of action since Week 1 of last season due to a knee injury.

The running back and his team-mates are scheduled to report for training camp on Tuesday, and on Monday Mostert used his official Twitter account to declare his fitness.

"Wanted to give you all an update," he wrote on Monday. "Yah Boy is CLEARED!!! It's go time!!"

Mostert has been rehabbing his knee since chipping cartilage in the San Francisco 49ers' 2021 season opener.

He underwent surgery in October and signed a one-year contract with Miami this offseason, reuniting him with first-year coach Mike McDaniel, who served as the 49ers' run game coordinator as well as offensive coordinator in San Francisco from 2017 to 2021.

"Being told you may never step on the field again isn't easy to hear," Mostert went on to write. "But when you bet on yourself, your faith, your determination, and modern medicine, good things happen. Hard work pays off! Beyond thankful!!"

The 30-year-old enjoyed his best season with the 49ers in 2019, when he rushed for 772 yards and eight touchdowns with an average of 5.6 yards per carry – the best by a running back with a minimum of 100 attempts – but injuries have limited him to just nine games these past two seasons.

Now entering his eighth season, Mostert is one of three new running backs signed by the Dolphins this offseason, along with Sony Michel, who led the Super Bowl-winning Los Angeles Rams with 845 rushing yards last year, and Chase Edmonds, who rushed for 592 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry last season for the Arizona Cardinals.

The Dolphins, who brought back Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed from last year's backfield, struggled mightily to move the ball on the ground last season as only the Houston Texans averaged fewer yards per carry than Miami's average of 3.55 and had fewer plays of 10+ rushing yards than Miami's 34.

Known for his speed, Mostert led all running backs with a minimum of 100 rushes in 2019 in percentage of carries gaining at least 10 yards at 16.8 per cent.

After seemingly implying that Derek Carr is a Hall of Fame quarterback, Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams pumped the breaks on writing his presentation speech for his new team-mate's induction into the NFL Hall of Fame.

During an interview on CBS Sports on Friday, Adams was asked about moving on from Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to his new quarterback in Carr.

"Anytime you change quarterbacks from Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer… it's going to be a little bit of an adjustment," he replied.

It certainly sounded like he was saying that the four-time league MVP and a Super Bowl MVP Rodgers – who had 37 touchdown passes to only four interceptions in 2021 for his eighth season of 30 or more TD passes – and Carr – who had 23 TD passes to 14 interceptions in 2021 and has not thrown more than 30 TD passes in a season since 2015 – both belong in the Hall of Fame.

Adams clarified that initial comparison and acknowledged he meant it is going to be an adjustment whenever you change quarterbacks.

"What I meant to say was even if you go Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer it's an adjustment," he said.

"Even if it is Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer, there's going to be an adjustment. I wasn't saying Hall of Famer Aaron to Hall of Famer Derek."

While he was quick to see how his original remarks could have been misinterpreted, he still believes his new quarterback could one day join Rodgers in the Hall of Fame.

"What I'm not going to do is take away from that statement because, why is Derek not a Hall of Famer? What I meant, I left one key word out of there because that's not exactly what I meant," he said.

"But I do think that Derek's career is Hall of Fame-worthy, and why not? Does he have the MVPs right now? No. Has he won a Super Bowl? Not yet. That's obviously what we're chasing."

Entering his ninth season in the NFL – all with the Raiders – Carr appeared in his first playoff game this past January – a 26-19 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in which he threw an interception near the goal line in the final seconds.

Carr is a three-time Pro Bowler and the Raiders’ all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns, but he has not had a receiver as dynamic as Adams in recent years.

A five-time Pro Bowler, Adams had career highs of 123 receptions for 1,553 yards last season while also catching 11 touchdowns after hauling in 18 in 2021.

The 29-year-old receiver signed a five-year, $141.25million contract extension after being traded to the Raiders this offseason and is now reunited with his former Fresno State team-mate in Carr as they look to help the franchise to its first postseason win since reaching the Super Bowl in the 2002 season.

"But what I'm not going to do is say Derek is not going to be a Hall of Famer because at the end of the day I believe, and this is not putting any expectations or any added pressure on him because he puts that type of pressure on himself because of what he expects every time he touches the field," Adams said.

"But yeah, I did not mean to say exactly that. I'm going to reiterate, even if you go from Hall of Famer to even another Hall of Famer, it's going to be an adjustment. Any time you change quarterbacks, is what I was getting at. So, take that and run with it and do whatever you want to do with it."

Carlos Sainz has defended Ferrari's strategy after a late pit stop cost the Spaniard a potential podium finish at the French Grand Prix. 

Ferrari endured a frustrating outing at Le Castellet as Red Bull stretched their lead at the top of Formula One's constructors' standings to 82 points.

With Charles Leclerc crashing out of the race for his third retirement of the season when in a leading position, Red Bull's Max Verstappen was followed onto the podium by Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Sainz had just overtaken Sergio Perez to assume third place when Ferrari took the decision to call the 27-year-old in for a late pit stop, after which he finished in fifth, his worst performance of the campaign, excluding retirements. 

Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto defended the decision after the race, insisting Sainz would have struggled to maintain his pace without new tyres, and the Spaniard has offered his support for the team's overall strategy.

"I think the team is doing a very good job on strategy this year," Sainz told Sky Sports.

"At Ferrari we get super criticised for things that other teams might be going through also in their pit stop windows.

"Every time there is a tricky moment on strategy, we are discussing things, but we are not a disaster like people seem to say we are."

While Sainz added he would have liked the opportunity to stay out and challenge the leaders after surging from the back row of the grid, he insisted he trusts his team's ability to weigh up the data and make decisive calls.

"We like to discuss things, we are open about them," Sainz added. "Yes, I was in the middle of an overtake, but the team believed that was the right lap to stop and come back through the field.

"I believed at the time that maybe it was better to risk it and stay out and see what happens with the tyres, even if it was the medium tyre on the limit of its life, but I had just made it to P3 and I saw a podium position. 

"I thought, 'if I make these tyres last, maybe I can finish on the podium', but we will never know.

"The team has a lot more data on the computer, they have a lot more numbers to go through, and if they took that decision, I'm 100 per cent convinced that they did it with the best of intentions and the best spirit. 

"We need to keep progressing, and we need to analyse everything and see how we can be better, but I'm convinced the team is doing a good job."

Carlos Alcaraz has his sights set on climbing to the summit of the ATP rankings after becoming the youngest player to crack the top five since Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard was downed in the Hamburg European Open final by Lorenzo Musetti over the weekend but nevertheless saw a rise in his stature to a career-high position of fifth.

In doing so, it makes the 19-year-old the second-youngest male to break into the top five this century, trailing only Nadal and bettering Novak Djokovic by a matter of months. 

"It means a lot," Alcaraz stated. "The hard work that I put in every day for reaching my dreams, [number] 1, and little by little I'm reaching my dream.

"Top five for me is pretty amazing and I will keep going to be [number] 1."

Had Alcaraz won in Hamburg, he would have risen to fourth, while other movements in the rankings include a rise to number 31 for Musetti and a return to the top 200 for Dominic Thiem, at number 199.

Ex-Manly Warringah Sea Eagles prop Ian Roberts says it "saddens" him that several of the club's players will reportedly boycott the decision to wear a pride jersey against Sydney.

The Sea Eagles are set to face the Roosters on Thursday in a specialised rainbow strip showing their support for the LGBTQ+ community.

But it has been reported that possibly more than half-a-dozen stars are set to refuse to feature, citing they were not consulted by the club, leaving Roberts - the first rugby footballer in either code to come out as gay, in 1995, frustrated.

"LGBTIQA people have always been a part of sport but haven’t always been allowed the visibility," he said.

"Honestly, I have been trying to get the NRL to have a pride round for the past three years and it still hasn’t got the traction it deserves.

"It saddens me because they think having a float at the Mardi Gras is enough and it’s not."